While officials of the Vile Parle police station registered a case against the unidentified motorcycle-borne thieves, the victim said she could not note down the number of the bike because it was too dark.

Sonali Sabarwal said she had gone to Goa for work, and was supposed to take a connecting flight from Mumbai to her residence in Bhopal. She said she alighted at the international airport and took an auto rickshaw for the domestic airport around 12.30 am.

Sabarwal said, “I had kept the bag beside me. All of a sudden, two persons on a motorcycle appeared from nowhere and started riding next to my auto.

They were wearing helmets. Suddenly, the rider hit me on the hand. I got scared and before I could regain composure, the pillion rider snatched my bag. Though I cried for help and the auto driver tried to chase them, the two fled the spot. I lost my hard-earned money. The incident is shocking, and a security lapse for a city like Mumbai.”

Senior Inspector Shashikant Talegaonkar of the Vile Parle police station said, “We have registered a case based on the complaint lodged by Sabarwal. Since it was dark, she was not unable to note down the bike’s number, nor was she able to see their faces. Currently, we are going through CCTV footage for possible leads.”